To provide data connectivity between the many computing, communication, or media devices distributed throughout commercial, campus, and residential buildings, network installers often run data cables within the walls, floors, and/or ceilings of the building. In many cases, this requires running the data cables through plenum spaces in the ceiling or floor of the building. Plenums are enclosed spaces within the building structure that conduct heated or cooled air throughout the building as part of a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Plenum spaces are separated from the general living or residential spaces, typically comprising the spaces above the dropped ceiling or below the raised floor. As wireless access points become more prevalent, network installers are placing an increasing number of cable connections within the ceiling.
Because plenum spaces facilitate free circulation of air between rooms of the building, the presence of fire, smoke, or toxic gases within a plenum space poses a high safety risk. To mitigate this risk, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has defined standards that dictate the types of materials that may be used for cables and related accessories residing within plenum spaces.
Horizontal cabling within plenums and other building spaces are often hung on J-hooks and terminated to a jack within the space (e.g., in the plenum space above the dropped ceiling) or by field terminating a plug. These termination practices yield a poor connection that is susceptible to accidental disconnection if the suspended jack or plug is physically impacted, or if an excessive amount of strain is placed on the cable.
The above-described deficiencies of current horizontal cabling techniques are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of current technology, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with the state of the art, and corresponding benefits of some of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein, may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.